introducing :: belle & sebastian

Last week, we were joined by these two newest young members of our farm family. May I introduce...

Belle...

...and her buddy, Sebastian. (Named once again by Ezra for the much-loved band of the same name. There is clearly a music theme emerging here until someone else claims the naming reigns.)

Their presence here is for a multitude of reasons. For one, we want them to prepare a space for us to garden. There's a large, weedy, overgrown, rooty spot in which we think our garden plot would best be come spring, and I had hoped that these two pigs might do the job for us this winter of cleaning it up and turning it all over, fertilizing it all the while.

Which is just precisely what they're doing in a serious way. (Thank you, sweet pigs!)

Another big reason for their presence is so that we may produce our own meat. The reality is that (while we haven't always), our family does eat and enjoy meat. While supporting local friends and farmers in the past has been wonderful, we want to live even closer to the source of our food, and to be a part of the entire life cycle and process, with all the beauty and challenge that may entail.

And lastly, they are here because we enjoy them. They are amazing creatures, these underrated critters that sometimes get a bad rap. We are grateful for all they do and will provide for us, and we are quite seriously entertained by their antics. (Who knew that PigTV could be so great?)

From little boys who can't stop themselves from testing out every myth they've heard about electric fences, to those who like to 'direct' and 'instruct' from afar...

...to those who love another reason to 'help"...

...and to those of us who just can't leave their side...

...we're all happy they are here!

(Just so long as Mama never ever hears the words "Pig's Out!" And yes, I'm fairly certain I just jinxed myself.)

Comments

Last week, we were joined by these two newest young members of our farm family. May I introduce...

Belle...

...and her buddy, Sebastian. (Named once again by Ezra for the much-loved band of the same name. There is clearly a music theme emerging here until someone else claims the naming reigns.)

Their presence here is for a multitude of reasons. For one, we want them to prepare a space for us to garden. There's a large, weedy, overgrown, rooty spot in which we think our garden plot would best be come spring, and I had hoped that these two pigs might do the job for us this winter of cleaning it up and turning it all over, fertilizing it all the while.

Which is just precisely what they're doing in a serious way. (Thank you, sweet pigs!)

Another big reason for their presence is so that we may produce our own meat. The reality is that (while we haven't always), our family does eat and enjoy meat. While supporting local friends and farmers in the past has been wonderful, we want to live even closer to the source of our food, and to be a part of the entire life cycle and process, with all the beauty and challenge that may entail.

And lastly, they are here because we enjoy them. They are amazing creatures, these underrated critters that sometimes get a bad rap. We are grateful for all they do and will provide for us, and we are quite seriously entertained by their antics. (Who knew that PigTV could be so great?)

From little boys who can't stop themselves from testing out every myth they've heard about electric fences, to those who like to 'direct' and 'instruct' from afar...

...to those who love another reason to 'help"...

...and to those of us who just can't leave their side...

...we're all happy they are here!

(Just so long as Mama never ever hears the words "Pig's Out!" And yes, I'm fairly certain I just jinxed myself.)

. . . . . . . .

Greetings! I'm Amanda Blake Soule - mother of five, author of three books on family creativity, and editor-in-chief of Taproot Magazine. I live with my family in an old farmhouse in Western Maine where we raise animals, grow vegetables and make lots of things. I write about it all here on the blog. Thank you for visiting!